Steam Hardware Survey: Windows 7 and GeForce GTX 1060 Lead the Pack

by Hilbert Hagedoorn on: 01/03/2018 09:05 AM | source: | 20 comment(s)

As you might (or not) know, Steam collects a lot of statistical data from their users which they share openly. And that always paints a very interesting picture as to what is the most popular hardware and software used. The December and 2nd half 2017 results have been listed, and guess what the number one hardware is?

So, I understand that here at Guru3D most of us are the high-end and enthusiast PC gamers, often with more than 6-core processors while staring at their Radeon RX Vega or a GeForce GTX 1080. The truth of it all is that seen overall things in hardware are much more level and widespread.

In December the most used graphics card was a GeForce GTX 1060 with over 12% of the user base. 47% of the end-users still have 8GB of RAM, where I am sure that Guru3D users would be at 16GB. The most used display resolution still is 1920x1080 with get this ... 70% of steams users.

Processor wise 67% of the users have a quad-core proc and 55% is running Windows 7. Also, you can see that when you focus on Q4 of 2017, AMD has not been doing well. Nvidia holds 85% of the graphics card market, and for processors, 91% of the pie is for Intel. As you can see, that share has been on the decline for AMD.

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fry178
Senior Member

Posts: 949
Joined: 2012-04-30

#5506981 Posted on: 01/04/2018 01:08 AM

@EyeofAC
you do know not everyone plays the same and/or the newest games?
or you wanna tell me that minecraft @QHD needs a 1080ti?

i have an almost "pro grade" screen with 32"@1440p (400$) and can run almost everything (BF4/MW3/HAWX 2/F1 etc) at 1440p with a gtx1060/3gb (200$).
games that require more HP (crappy coded stuff like Siege) will run fine at 1080p, which then doesnt need any AA (as you get a similar effect from running non-native res).

@Khronikos
code thats exclusive for consoles, means it wont run on a pc, so point is mute.
unless you meant to say console ports, which then still isnt a fair comparison, as a pc "exclusive" game wont run as good on the consoles as well.

Vibe
Senior Member

Posts: 260
Joined: 2016-11-26

#5506987 Posted on: 01/04/2018 01:33 AM

People always seem to forget the Steam Survey is *voluntary*--if you don't voluntarily take the survey--you are not counted. Therefore, the Steam survey is not, nor has it ever been, absolute numbers of some kind, even as to Steam members. Not even close, really. I haven't taken a Steam survey in *years*--it simply isn't important to me. Why do you think they call it "survey" in the first place? People looking for absolute numbers need to look again because the Steam Survey does not supply them. Look at it like all of those polls giving Hillary Clinton 85% odds of beating Trump--when the reality was the reverse. Always keep in mind that polls of any kind are attempts to manipulate public opinion--that'd be yours or mine, in this case. Always buy what you personally like and prefer--not what some third party tries to tell you "other people" are buying...

Ugh. Who would want to shop like that? Much more is routinely made of the "Steam Survey" than is either desirable or profitable, imo. IE, take it with a large grain of salt. --I mean, if more people say they are going to follow each other off the cliff, does that make falling to your death more attractive, somehow? "Look, he did it!" I think not. Lemmings are not intelligent by nature, it must never be forgotten. Beware of psychological spins that try to make you into "just another lemming"...!

Relax. The only thing I care about is the hardware that I have. Everyone knows that polls are limited only to those surveyed. That's what a poll is. Survey's in general are actually a good thing. You benefit from it more than you may realize.

D3M1G0D
Senior Member

Posts: 1497
Joined: 2017-03-10

#5506993 Posted on: 01/04/2018 01:58 AM

I haven't taken a Steam survey in *years*--it simply isn't important to me.

Until recently, I didn't even know Steam surveys were a thing. The only instance that I can remember is when I installed Steam on my old 4790K for testing purposes, which I found ironic since it used to be my gaming rig shortly before that point (I naturally declined, as I didn't want to give false impressions). I really wish Valve would just collect data directly from their installed users (with an option to opt out, of course).

Brit90
Member

Posts: 84
Joined: 2016-11-08

#5507030 Posted on: 01/04/2018 04:49 AM

Personally, I think the AMD "problem" is not that it is declining, it is because AMD GPU's are all being used in Mining, which of course, has nothing to do with Gaming and Steam.

Bringing China into the statistics skews the statistics, in the way things are. China is a relatively poor area in the World, with regards to the West. So it stands to reason that the more affordable - just do - hardware is used. Since, no one can buy AMD GPU's for love or money, it stands to reason it would show a decline. If the Rx570-580 were available at the Original RRP - I am sure AMD would be shown in a better light. If you can view the stats by country (I have not tried looking) I think their would be a big difference from the Majority Stats, which are shown here.

Kaarme
Senior Member

Posts: 1410
Joined: 2013-03-10

#5507066 Posted on: 01/04/2018 08:53 AM

Bringing China into the statistics skews the statistics, in the way things are. China is a relatively poor area in the World, with regards to the West.

It's the second largest capitalism in the world already, after the USA. It has the second largest number of billionaires per country in the world, again after the USA. With its huge population, if we are talking about simply relatively wealthy people (because you don't actually need to be absolutely rich to afford decent computer components), I imagine China easily has much more such people than the whole population of my home country. China today isn't the same as China decades ago. It doesn't matter if a good chunk of people living in the underdeveloped rural areas probably aren't looking for brand new PC components, there are lots and lots of people living in their big cities that are enjoying modern life the same as people in the Western countries (aside from some immaterial things).

it's because in china there is not one chinese language, but many.
"simplified" mean that everyone can read and type it, it's more a standardisation.

Yeah, I knew about the language differences, but not that they chose such an interesting word to describe a standardisation effort. Thanks for the info.

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